The objective of Wijk & Water Battle is to provide participants with insights into their water and energy consumption, ultimately encouraging them to change their habits. The pilot launched in the autumn of 2015, involving children from two primary schools in different neighborhoods of Leeuwarden. Over three months, the children teamed up with local residents in a “battle” to reduce peaks in water usage, successfully spreading consumption more evenly throughout the day. The game offers competitive platform gameplay that requires families and communities as players to save real-world water to win the game. A concept that, according to the developers, is adaptable to energy, gas and other resources.
W&WB was commissioned by Vitens, a Dutch water provider that sought to encourage customers to spread their water usage more evenly, saving both energy and costs. The project included an app, a website, and a Facebook page to engage users across multiple platforms.